Fire-shutter for kinetoscopes.



R. J. EMORY.

FIRE SHUTTER FOR KINETOSCOPES. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 25. 1914.

5] vwe n/toz Patented Apr. 15, 1919.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT J. EMORY, F NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO BAIRD MOTION PICTURE MACHINE COMPANY, 01 NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW J ERSEY.

FIRE-SHUTTER FOR KIN ETOSCOI'EST Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr, 15 1919,

/ Application filed February 25, 1914. Serial No. 821,020.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT J. EMORY, a citizen of the United States, residing in Newark, in the county of Essex, in the State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Shutters for Kinetoscopes, of which the following 1s a s ecificationr ne of the objects of this invention is to provide a fire shutter which will be con trolled automatically by the motion of the machine and which will'be operated with certainty and with minimum friction.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fire shutter which will be actuated quickly after the machine has been set in operation by mechanism that will tend to steady the operation of the machine.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will be obvious and certain others will be indicated in the following description of one form of mechanism embodying my invention, which consists in the new and novel features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a kinetoscope embodying my invention in i which the frame of the machine is broken away to more clearly disclose the device.

Fig. 2 is a detail front elevation of the shutter.

Fig. 3 represents .a cross-section through the door and a portion of the casing showing part of the fire shutter actuating mechanism in plan.

The film 1 is fed downward past the light aperture 2 by any suitable means as the sprocket wheel 3 driven through the main driving shaft 4. The light is projected through a lens indicated at'5 and is intercepted at intervals by any suitable means as an external shutter (not shown) which is mounted upon a two part shaft comprising a shutter shaft 6 and a governor shaft 7. Said shafts are driven at desired speed from the main driving shaft 4 by any suitable means as the bevel gears 8, one of which is mounted upon the governor shaft.

Mounted upon the governor shaft 7 is a centrifugal governor 9 comprising the weights 10 secured by the pivot links 11 to the abutment, hub or bearing 12. Said Weights are connected by means of the pivot links 13 to a movable collar 14 mounted upon the governor shaft. A spring 15 normally holds the weights in their closed or non-operative position.

A s iding bar 16 is mounted on the frame in any suitable manner as the pins or screws 17 which engage in slots 18 formed therein and is connected to the collar 14 by suitable means as an arm 19 provided with a yoke 20 adapted to engage in a slot or groove 21 provided in said collar 14. The bar is also pivoted, by means of a pin and slot connection 21', to an arm or lever 22 which is fulcrumed as at 24 to the frame and provided at its free end with a head or. enlfargement 25 forming an operative bearing ace.

The fire shutter 2 is secured to a shaft or spindle 27 mounted in suitable bearings 28 provided on the frame above the light aperture 2. A pinion 29 is secured to one end of this shaft which meshes with a rod comprising a rack 30 movable in bearings provided in a portion of the frame which may comprise a door or other movable part 31 hinged as at 31* to the stationary part of the frame. The rack projects inward a sufficient distanceto bear against the head of the lever 22 and these two parts are normally held in contact with each other by the Weight of the shutter.

Mount-ed upon the governor shaft andbetween the abutment or hub 12 and the movable collar 14. is a sleeve or bushing 32. Preferably said sleeve is mounted within'the spring 15 and rotates with the shaft and is properly spaced with respect to the collar so as to form a stop or bearing therefor when the shutter has been raised to an approximately horizontal position so as to clear the aperture.

In operation, the governor weights 10 are thrown outward as soon as the governor shaft 7 is rotated by operation of the main shaft 4. This movement of the governor weights will draw the collar 14 toward the stationary hub 12, thus actuating the sliding bar 16 and forcing the lever 22 outward toward the aperture. This movement is communicated to the rack 30 which operates the pinion 29 and automatically raises the fire shutter. As soon as the collar 14 engages with the sleeve 32 further movement of the shutter is arrested which at this point has been raised approximately to its horizontal position. When the machine is slowed down the collar let is forced away from the stationary hub by the spring, thus retracting the lever 22 and permitting the shutter to fall by gravity, which movement automatically is communicated to the rack bar, causing it to remain always in engagement with the head or operating face of the lever.

By means of this construction, the fire shutter responds promptly to the initial rotation of the shutter shaft and closes almost immediately whenever the speed of the shaft decreases below a predetermined rate. There is no binding friction between the parts when the shutter is in its open position, since they are so proportioned and the slots in the sliding bar are of such length that the only effective stop for the movementof the collar and the rod is the sleeve 32, thus reducing friction to a minimum. The loose connection between the operating lever and the rack permits the shutter to be mounted on a relatively movable part of the casing, as a door, whereby ready access to the mechanism may be obtained. Furthermore, the governor which is mounted upon the shutter shaft tends to steady and equalize the movement. thereof.

It will be obvious that the invention embodies various other advantages not specifically set forth and that various changes may be made in the mechanism herein shown and described which are within the skill of the mechanic, and which are within the scope of my invention provided the means set forth in the following claims be employed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim V 1. In a fire shutter for kinetoscopes, the combination of a shutter, a rack operatively connected therewith, a lever adapted to engage said rack, a shaft and means for operating said lever comprising a governor mounted on said shaft having a collar operatively connected with said lever, a compres- "sion spring guided on said shaft and acting onsaidcollar toforce the same in the direction opposite to the direction of movement caused by the actuation of the governor and a sleeve loosely mounted on said shaft, constituting a means for maintaining the spring out of engagement with the rotating shaft and acting as a stop to limit the movement of the collar when acted upon by the governor.

2. In a fire shutter for kinetoscopes, the combination with a movable part of the kinetoscope having a fire shutter and a rack operatively connected therewith and both 6 mounted on the movable part, of a lever positioned exteriorly of the rack, mounted on a fixed part of the kinetoscope and adapted to be moved into engagement with said rack to open the shutter, a bar. piv- 6 oted to said lever and means for actuating said bar comprising a centrifugal governor operatively connected to said bar, said shutter being operable independently of the lever when the shutter is moved into its open po- 7 sition and said shutter and rack being both separablefrom the other parts of the shutter actuating mechanism when said movable part is moved into open position.

3. In a fire shutter for kinetoscopes, the i combination of a shutter, a rotatable shaft, a governor on said shaft and means for automatically actuating said shutter comprising a member reciprocated by the governor, an arm engaging said member, a lever operatively connected with the shutter and a connecting bar between said arm and lever slidably mounted for reciprocatory movement and a in and slot connection between said bar an one arm of said lever.

4. In afire shutter for kinetoscopes, the combination with a stationary support, a rotatable shaft mounted onsaid support, a governor on said shaft and a lever actuated by said governor, of a movable support, a fire shutter designed to be moved bodily to and from an operative position, and comprising a spindle mounted on said support, and means engaging said spindle to raise the shutter, said means having a loose en gagement with saidlever positioned entirely on one side thereof and being normally held in operative engagement therewith by the weight of the shutter, said means separating from the leveras the movable support is moved away from the stationary support.

5. In a motion picture machine, the combination with a two part shaft, one part an external shutter actuating shaft, the other part a governor shaft connected therewith to actuate the same, a centrifugal governor driven froni said governor shaft, a fire shutter actuated by said governor, said governor in its fire shutter controlling operation also acting through said governor shaft to steady and equalize the movement of said shutter actuating shaft.

This specification signed and witnessed this 14th day of February,-A. D., 1914.

, ROBERT J. EMORY. Signed in the presence of- JOHN W. MEMMOTI, 'T. DEC. RUTH. 

